I have just returned from a very pleasant evening with some of the nicest people in Barnet. Tonight was an informal party to celebrate the demise of Mr Coleman hosted by Helen Michaels at Cafe Buzz in North Finchley. Parking activists, Friern Barnet Library campaigners, the enigmatic Mr Johny Baldy, author of the 101 reasons to sack Brian Coleman blog, along with some battle hardened activists were present.
However, the one message that I overhead many times is that this isn't the end of the fight but merely the end of round one. There are still a great many mistakes the council need to rectify, the attacks on the most vulnerable in the borough, the madness that is One Barnet Outsourcing. I came away with a real sense of the growing self empowerment of residents; they will no longer simply roll over when the council sets policy without meaningful consultation and consensus on the outcomes.
I don't know if the Conservatives will be defeated in the forthcoming Brunswick Park By-Election but I suspect they will get a real run for their money. A regime that rules by diktat rather than consensus will inevitably be overturned. In the case of Barnet Conservatives that might happen in 2014 if they don't start changing now.
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